8 posts categorized "Business"

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Since I’ve been a customer I can only remember a couple of changes in Autodesk branding. They recently they announced a new logo so it is goodbye to the old:

Hello to the new:

Autodesk, autodesk, Autodesk, AUTODESK?

I like the new logo but wonder about the uppercase text. There was a brief flirtation with lowercase in the early part of this century (see photo below) but now ‘Autodesk’ has become, the little bit shouty, ‘AUTODESK’.

I’m glad this seems to be confined to the logo unlike some brands which carry their case sensitivity into normal text use. I’m thinking about you Mini, mini, I mean MINI. That said AUTODESK would have been a trivial change to one ActiveWord for me. I just type, or scrawl on a tablet pc, ‘adesk’ and ActiveWords does the rest!

Not my Father’s Autodesk?

The title of this post, by Chris Bradshaw, introducing the new look made me smile:

Our new brand made its public debut today at this year’s TED held in Long Beach, Calif., where thinkers from around the world gathered to brainstorm and spread ideas. We could not think of a better place to unveil Autodesk’s new look than the premier conference about technology, entertainment and design…

My, can I say here?, 70+some year old my Dad is a — supposed to be retired but keeps on working — Printing Engineer with an interest in CNC machining, a PC and an iPad. He is a ‘maker’, mostly machine parts & stuff for his yacht, but his fabrication is physical rather than digital. I didn’t inherit this ability as can create things in the computer, but am hopeless at real world making. He can build anything with precision in the real world but consults me about computer stuff!

Perhaps easy to use consumer focused digital design solutions like 123Dapp.com means it really is more My Father’s Autodesk!

A rebrand closer to home

As I write Autodesk.com is still showing the old logo. I’m not surprised as a change like this is a huge transition. My employer The Warehouse is in the midst of a pretty subtle rebranding exercise; the second in its 30 year history. In 2005 the original 1980s logo was modernised:

The current change is removal of yellow from logo and, where it has much more impact, customer level signage, ticketing etc. for a much cleaner simpler look. Amazing to see how even a subtle change impacts perception — customers do notice — but also how much work is involved.

Time update my ‘Autodesk Sign photo’?

Back in 2004 when I visited, first met other than virtually, Shaan Hurley at Autodesk he took this photo. The logo, and both of us, have changed a bit since then! Perhaps its time for another trip to San Francisco (my favourite US city of the few I’ve visited) for a reshoot!

Sunday, 16 May 2010

One of the most memorable aspects of my first day at TWL was finding the CAD computer wasn’t ready, going home and bringing my in own. It was only for a day or two and, coming from life as a contractor, supplying a computer wasn’t a big deal. That was more than a decade ago, and TWL IT is now rather more organised than it was back then, but a recent news article brought it to mind.

It seems to be a trend that started with cars. I remember contracting for a company where, between my monthly visits, they changed from a fleet of “which colour, because the model is set by your “status”, Toyota do you want?”, to a “car park motor show” of brands and models. The change happened as they scrapped company cars, replacing them with Salary adjustments, subsidised loans and a mileage allowance for company use. Free from the corporate fleet scheme people went out and got the vehicle they wanted, needed, desired.

Now some companies are taking the same approach with IT and it’s web based, cross platform applications or desktop virtualisation that enables it. You like a Mac, use a Mac, I prefer a PC, I’ll use a PC and choose whatever operating system seems best. Variety of hardware is one thing but allowing employees to use their own is another. Technical support is one aspect but probably the easiest. There are business & employment considerations that I think could be more complex. I wonder how well company, and country, contract/employment requirements will handle it?

There are likely to be some things a company can do with respect to capital equipment that an employee (who is not a contractor) can’t. It will depend on your country, state if you have them, tax & employment regulations but as a salary/wage employee:

Can you depreciate your computer?

Do you get sales tax refund for the purchase?

Would any ‘corporate purchase” discount apply?

If compensation is offered, what about Fringe Benefit Tax (if that applies)

Some tax schemes may require commercial/personal use to be measured. How do you do that? PC’s don’t have odometers so the vehicle mileage analogy can’t apply!

Apart from financial there are other aspects like;

Does a “personal computer” warrantee apply for commercial use?

What happens when your machine dies. You supplied the computer and you can’t work…?

Insurance, especially for mobile computers, could be interesting…

It’s your PC, but what about application licenses? Probably not a problem while you’re working but if you create personal data with corporate apps on your machine, what happens if you leave? Do you buy all the applications?

I’m not opposed to this in principle but think it would require careful consideration. However, the line from the Apple post that has me wondering is:

"..everyone works differently. For some, a standard computer or laptop is just the right tool to get their work done. For others, a computer with a little something extra – a different operating system, custom hardware, more memory, etc. – is the best fit for their job."

If that’s really the case, why doesn’t the employer just provide the best fit for their job?

Are you doing this now? Would you consider it? I’m interested in your thoughts, either comment on the post or email (link in the R/H column) if you don’t want to share in a public forum.

Sunday, 07 June 2009

Kiwi based "personal factory" Ponokonow have a San Francisco manufacturing centre meaning your creations can be made, shipped, to US customers without crossing the Pacific. Ponoko takes the make/sell hassle out of getting your designs to your customers by providing web based manufacturing, costing and shopping for your creations.

By the end of the day today (Friday June 5th, Pacific time) our existing making hub in Wellington, New Zealand will be joined by a new hub in San Francisco, United States – and our online making system will be updated to reflect this big change.

Friday, 11 July 2008

The Autodesk + Bentley deal was a bit of a surprise and is big news for those collaborating with dwg/dgn, However, I haven’t seen a .dgn file in years so it won’t change my life.

This one was not expected at all. It seems BMW & Fiat are looking to collaborate on powertrain, maybe medium small car technology (Alfa Mito/Punto/Mini sized) and, perhaps, dealer sharing to launch Alfa in the USA. Now that’s a surprise! Maybe it will stop my brilliant, BMW expert who tolerates Fiats, mechanic from asking: “When are you buying a BMW?”

Autodesk and Bentley to Advance AEC Software Interoperability - Autodesk Press ReleasesAt a joint press conference, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Bentley Systems, Incorporated, two of the leading providers of design and infrastructure software, today announced an agreement to expand interoperability between their portfolios of architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) software. Autodesk and Bentley will exchange software libraries, including Autodesk RealDWG, to improve the ability to read and write the companies' respective DWG and DGN formats in mixed environments with greater fidelity. In addition, the two companies will facilitate work process interoperability between their AEC applications through supporting the reciprocal use of available Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)…

Fiat and BMW officially confirm agreementIt’s official: the agreement between Fiat Automobiles and BMW AG. The two sides have said “the possibilities of reaching a common use of components and systems on Alfa Romeo and Mini vehicles is being examined to create economies of scale and cost reduction”.

Tuesday, 23 October 2007

Supermarket tussle starts in court - NZ HeraldSupermarket giants Foodstuffs and Woolworths will today go head to head with the Commerce Commission in the High Court at Wellington, appealing a decision barring either from taking over discount chain The Warehouse…

Sunday, 20 August 2006

Imagine you worked for a company that had re-branded, including redesigned corporate templates. Maybe this included a PowerPoint template that ignored every bit of advice you’ve read recently about better PowerPoint design. It might use overwhelming bright colours and a huge logo on every slide overpowering a tiny area for the most important bit – the content.

Of course you could just use it or you could create a presentation that massaged that template into something more modern. Maybe slightly tone down the colour so it doesn’t shout, perhaps ignore the “approved content area” (a letter-box slot between the “branding”) and fill the slides with image(s) and as few words as possible, reduce or even remove logos from most slides…

Ok, so it’s no longer “brand compliant” but the impact has been interesting. Those who have seen the presentation have commented on the content but nobody has mentioned the missing branding; so why is it there?

I don’t know anything about branding but reading this today made me grin…

Presentation Zen: Cleaning up our act“Try this: If you must use your logo, do so only on the first slide and the last slide.”“Putting your logo on every slide is like shouting your name before every new thought you have.““Branding is important — but a logo on your PPT slides is not branding (not even close).”